Mary Emery (née Mary Hopkins; December 19, 1844–October 12, 1927) was an American philanthropist.

Biography

Mary Emery was born to parents Richard Hopkins and Mary Barr Denny Muhlenberg in 1844. In 1862, Mary and her family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Mary was educated at the

Packer Collegiate Institute The Packer Collegiate Institute is an independent college preparatory school for students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Formerly the Brooklyn Female Academy, Packer has been located at 170 Joralemon Street in the historic district of Br ...

in Brooklyn and excelled in advanced mathematics and astronomy. She married Thomas Emery in 1866. Thomas was the oldest son of a businessman, whose empire of candle manufacturing, real estate, and housing construction would soon grow exponentially. They had two sons together, Sheldon and Albert. Albert was killed in a sledding accident while at prep school. Together, the couple bought an enormous estate called "Mariemont" near

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. Upon the death of her husband, Mary became a generous philanthropist and benefactor. In her final years, she recognized her "vast responsibility" and began funding various orphanages, colleges, hospitals, and schools with the enormous fortune she inherited upon her husband's death. She avoided publicity as much as possible for her donations. In 1923, she funded the planned community of

Mariemont, Ohio Mariemont (pronounced ) is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. It includes two overlapping historic districts, Village of Mariemont and Mariemont Historic District. Named for its founder, Mary Emery, Mariemont exhibits English ...

, named after her estate in Rhode Island. She died four years later in 1927.

References

* * 1844 births 1927 deaths 19th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American philanthropists People from Cincinnati Philanthropists from New York (state) Philanthropists from Ohio {{philanthropist-stub